The original house suffered from a plain, unarticulated stucco façade and unusually narrow, chopped-up interior spaces. The main living spaces were separated from the entry by two floors of awkward, dark stairs and hallways. But the house did have tall ceilings and the potential for stunning views of the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, and downtown San Francisco.

The remodel reinvented the street façade with grey limestone cladding and projecting metal frames around the windows and garage. The top-floor envelope was pulled back from the lower façade to allow for a deck and planters.

A wood, steel and glass stair with light spilling down from windows and skylights above pulls visitors up to the top floor, which was opened up as one great room with windows on three sides. An open kitchen with lots of storage serves the needs of clients who love to cook and entertain. The main deck takes advantage of the sweeping views and serves as an outdoor room with fireplace, windscreen, custom planters, and an operable awning. A small outdoor deck off the dining room provides space for grilling and growing herbs.

A perforated metal screen wraps down from the ceiling of the top floor to the entry two floors below, adding diffused light as well as visual and textural continuity. The stairway is capped with a built-in custom kinetic sculpture by a local artist that is integrated into the metal ceiling.

Throughout the home, a soft gray and white palette lets the abundance of natural light and views take center stage.

Say you love Barcelona and you rather take little monthly trips than embarking on moth long exhausting holydays. Say you hate mini bars, wake up calls, bellboys or those useless hotel hairdryers. If you favour real homes, with unique style and owners; with full dinnerware or books even if you are on vacations, you know we can be talking about some 6k worth on accommodation expense per year, without VAT or the famous all inclusive wristbands.

If more than merely a wish, this is a “lifestyle” you plan to maintain up until the moment you definitely move to the grave (say in 50 something years), suddenly we´ll be talking 300k (euros that is, ´cause it’s about time we give “pesetas” a rest!)

Imagine now you can count with the tip of your fingers all those bill notes carefully folded on your swollen pocket: Would rather gradually transfer all that in to someone else´s account? or are you more inclined to invest it in a hot property in the neighbourhood with the highest hipster density in Barcelona? Please also, bear in mind for this much you might be doing some 80 year old couple (affectionately) a favour, by taking off their hands and backs this decaying but full of potential apartment. In return you´ll have the house you´ve always wanted in the city of your dreams; getaways without check out date and a home away from home. While real state prices are still on the low, the economic recession seems to be finally receding. This might be just the time you´ve been waiting for: The whimsy expense is finally looking more and more like a wise investment!

But don’t take my word for it. Let me introduce you to our middle-aged French duo: Monsieur et Madame Desbois (Marie and Jean Phillippe to their closest friends) though I know you know these are not their real names. They absolutely love Paris, of course, as the Gallo God will have it and as it is clearly stated in the first of “les dis Commandements”, but they also love to scape from it: swapping the Seine for the Mediterranian, Omelette for Spanish “tortilla”, or Edith Piaff fro local rumba singer Peret. Over the last ten years and every time they could, J.P. and Marie have been coming to Barcelona to walk their soles off over El Borne´s cobble paved streets and to discover new terrace cafés at rate of two per night. Around nine, one evening, they found themselves in the middle of a secluded, unknown to most little square, surrounded by narrow pedestrians streets, altogether very ancient like its name: St. Agustí Vell (the elder). They had a remarkable time under the sodium lampposts that night, and sometime afterwards they went back during day time so Marie could capture in her lenses and hopefully take home part of the their secret spot´s charm. Back in their hotel room and reviewing the shots on her camera screen Marie though she could read a “FOR SALE” sign hanging upon a balcony looking over the square. She ran and showed J.P. and the next photo shoot that took place around those whereabouts is right in now in front of your eyes.

Can the second home of a young couple be similar to that of our grandparents? No too similar! To begging with, provided it has his own bathroom, a single guestroom will do to host the eventual friend joining the trip in the very last minute, leaving all those tiny bedrooms formerly destined for the offspring without a purpose or practical sense. For the same reason the kitchen, living and dining rooms no longer need to be small, dark and separated spaces when they can instead be easily integrated into one single but ample room full of light and possibilities. Vestibule, ante-chamber, foyer: all words from the days of yore the today only mean wasted square meters, that will undoubtedly be put to better use if annexed to neighbouring spaces with a clear practical call such as relaxing, eating or sharing with your loved ones, rather than just stepping over and passing by. It´s true, we didn’t just come up with wood ourselves, nor have we been the first to ever think about using it as a floor covering, but combined with hexagonal mosaic tiled pavement, that delimits at the same time the area destined for the kitchen, we hope it´s been less used in the past and holds up better to the constant mopping; while installed in two different shades (lighter and darker) according to the amount of light each half of the flat (public and private) receive, its surely a criteria less exploited so far. Following the lines of the wooden planks, starting from underneath that superb Habitat rug, our eyes and feet travel from the sofa, until the dining room table surrounded by chairs, that for once are different from the very classic Eames (lets do a very discrete wave ´cause the stools still are) where we sit just as handsome but maybe more comfortably to enjoy the cheese platter, for not all the French are thorough chefs. The whipped off clean plates, as well as our satisfied teeth, gleam under the beam of light shining from a couple of pendant lamps in the shape of whisks.

It hasn´t all been about smiles, though. We had a hell of a time knocking down all partitions that formerly stood in the middle of this ample social area. It took an army composed of a hard headed architect in commander and an infantry of ten mason workers armed with iron props and a beam the size a of a cannon. Always aiming on the nicest, we missed the target repeatedly before hitting right on the spot of the kitchen that fulfilled quality, capacity and budget expectations. Neighbours on their part, remained always up in arms, forcing us to retrench a couple of times. Gladly conflict´s resolution was finally conquered, and now J.P. and Marie live among thy neighbours in a somehow stable state of peace not completely devoid of its fair amount of envy. Cause lets face it: What sort of a life would this be if we could not secretly turn green with envy when looking at our neighbours rad rooftop terrace, his super hot girlfriend(s) or his whacking hot rod? Envy is such an easy guilty pleasure!

Laying out the private realm of the flat was even easier though. Once the toilets were conveniently located according to the position of the building drainage mains, the remaining free space was almost automatically defined and halved by an imaginary line. We dared to slightly push this line aside in order to allow the occupants of each room to lean out of the window and listen to the radio played by the lady on the fifth floor: a lady that plays music one does not find in France (or the whole of Spotify for that matter) at a very Spanish volume. Partly for this reason, thorough windows were ordered. Joinery and crystals with double insulation, thermal, acoustic and almost nuclear break all made in (very expensive) fire and waterproof “Mellis” pinewood, cause it is also nice to sleep quiet, long and tight. That´s just how we picture them right now: placidly leaning, J.P. and Marie, one reading under the light of pending lamp that substitutes that on top of the nightstand, leaving its surface available to place there a cool wooden bird, or some table top cactus similar to those that fill every greenery named board of any Pinterest addict; And Marie, maybe a bit more focused on her word puzzles, her head resting against the mid height headboard wall which they wanted to cover with a worn out cement texture wallpaper tattooed with blue decorative patterns.

Endless lines of indirect architectural lighting were installed to gently grace those accent walls covered with exposed bricks, wallpaper, traditional hydraulic mosaic or common rectangular tiles placed diagonally this time. The warmth of such lighting falls, though it might sound better to say “sheds down” in a yellowish gradient juxtaposed over the ascending pattern of the shower tiling: blinding whiteness gradually fading into a bluish green, or a greeny blue, depending on the reader´s colour-blindness (or his screen´s colour settings). There was no need to resort to the same strategy for each and every wall, for the mural mirrors that camouflage the one but generous wardrobe in the house reflect the effect, while the mirror in front, on top of the sink endlessly multiplies it. That´s just the way they are… The Desbois have more suitcases than drawers, store little travel a lot and will lived happily ever after both in French and Catalan.

Six month later we´ve learned how to correcty pronounce Leroy Merlin (more or less “lehrooáh-marláhn”), we know who to blame for “gautellet” (hideous despite having been invented by the French) and have gone back to the house with a real state agent to assess the property: and voilá! cinq cent quatre-vingt mille !: c’est pas mal !

A residential building on a prominent urban development site at a corner by the Helmut-Zilk Park is setting a vitalising accent on the new district of the Central Railway Station – the contest-winning project of the architecture collective feld72. The building is positioned opposite the already existing Sonnwendviertel educational campus, its striking corner situation creating a landmark within the developing urban district. The building typology harks back to the characteristics of old city buildings, enabling a rich diversity of uses. One of its main focuses is on the practical options offered by the “Stadtsockelzone”, the ground floor area, promoting revitalisation of the neighbourhood.

Besides being a pulsating access to the city, the project “PARK ATRIUM – Let’s dance!“ stands for joy in movement, healthy life, creative work and urban home-living.

The project is a result of the cooperation with the property developer Kallco. The main reason for winning the competition besides the quality of the architecture is feld72’s utilisation proposals for the ground floor, a dynamic concept involving a children’s dance studio and a vegetarian delivery service. This usage concept is supplemented by modular offices on the first floor. The Quartiershaus unfolds as a magnetic centre of attraction, arousing interest and drawing people to the quarter, guaranteeing usage at all times of the day and year.

The building’s clear structure with its staggered arrangement of rooftops gives it a landmark appearance and puts a focus on the park. A energy-infused interplay with the urban space is generated. The ground floor with its accentuation as public space and the office floor above it form a common socle; the residential floors above are connected through the proscenium, which from the outside is clearly legible as a space. The variety of uses is evident.

The proscenium is central element and an exceptional feature, composed of vertically stacked spaces and combining the functions of access and circulation as well as communal rooms. Variously exploitable rooms create space for the house community and visitors. As a homage to the traditional meeting point of the bassenas – the communal water-tap – associated with the Gründerzeit – the time of the industrial expansion in the mid-to-late nineteenth century – the proscenium so to speak lifts a curtain to a social and public space. Meanwhile it transmits a clear identity and creates not only orientation but also an interactive space between inside and outside. The aura radiating from the multicoloured rooms generates a reciprocally inviting gesture relating it to the urban context. At night it acts as “lantern” and a positive influence on the public urban space.

The surroundings and the activities in the building are basis for a mutually inviting relationship. Threshold-less connections unite interior and exterior. This is supported by a transparent ground floor. Changing floor materials mark different degrees of openness to the public space. These open borders encourage encounter and cultural diversity.

The design of the free spaces is based on the collaboration with Susanne Kallinger and YEWO Landscapes. Next to the arcade connections on the ground floor the forecourt with public stage for the dance studio extends to the park. Fluid transitions sustain a spatial continuum of atrium and green area. This free and easy sequence forms communicative hubs and interfaces for neighbours. The free space is actively and openly integrated into its surroundings. A vitalised roof landscape with terraces for communal and private use adds a signal effect to the building. Evolving here is a building with a special identity as an address.

In 2014, Sasaki completed a study of Dartmouth College’s residential life experience. Following recommendations from this study, the college officially moved to a house system in 2016. This change will strengthen community, promote continuity of friendship over students’ college careers, and increase opportunities for deeper intellectual engagement through informal interactions. The six house communities are formed from clusters of existing residence halls, many of which were built between 1920–50. As this housing stock had not been built to accommodate student life needs, four communities required additional common space to support the new house programming. Sasaki designed two temporary House Centers to meet this need.

The design team embraced the concept of “temporary” buildings to rethink traditional models of residential life construction. A demonstration of the team’s forward-looking thinking, the structures provide several benefits. Low cost and simple design enabled fast construction to support the new system; flexible programming enables the discovery of what spaces work best in support of future residence hall construction; and the buildings can be adapted to suit future uses.

These two buildings were completed in time for the Fall 2016 semester and have been an immediate success with students. Several students have commented on how these buildings provide a space that was previously lacking. These buildings offer a “living room” feel—more casual than the library, more intimate than the dining hall, and more social than the traditional residence halls.

The architectural styles vary, reinforcing the experimental intent. House Center A is a tensile membrane structure that emits a soft glow at night, while House Center B is a wood frame building with cement-board cladding and floor-to-ceiling windows. Both have open floorplans and exposed structural and mechanical systems. Movable furniture encourage students to “own” the space, testing configurations that complement their needs.

With the design of an educational ensemble for Terenten in South Tyrol, the Viennese architectural collective feld72 set out important measures for a new concept of a thriving village structure.

Educational ensemble

The idea of ​​the educational ensemble originated from a study in 2005, which involved the local community to develop a holistic concept for the village. Based on the original building of the 1970s, where the school and the kindergarten were housed together, a concept developed over the years which allows both facilities more space and interaction whilst at the same time integrating the existing village library.The educational ensemble opens itself to the village and vice versa – it becomes part of everyday life. A prerequisite for the implementation of this progressive and modern concept was the exemplary educational autonomy of South Tyrol and the very committed teachers involved in the project.The premise was to create an engaging and activating learning environment that encourages discovery, experimentation and research.

As a sensory instrument, which changes and sharpens perceptions, the new school building does not only offer a suitable house for up-to-date teaching and learning but is itself a teaching tool. By making the space available and comprehensively allowing this space to be experiences in all its dimensions, it also contributes to structural and architectural understanding.

In two stages of construction, the kindergarten with its adjacent outer space was completed in 2010 by feld72. In 2017 the reworking of the exiting school building followed. By renovating the old building a resource-conserving building process was chosen.Despite undertaking only minimal construction work, a building was created that opens doors not only literally, but also for new pedagogical approaches whilst also using synergies which result from the proximity to the kindergarten.The ensemble creates additional value for Terenten by providing public spaces, accesses and connections. Now that the village library is also integrated into the buildings, school and social activities are firmly anchored in the village.

The kindergarten, completed in 2010, consists of three buildings, thereby taking care to consider the village’s scale as well as the children’s perspective. The individual buildings join to present an optically memorable form; cleverly using the existing topography, they are embedded in the slope and connect internal and external spaces.The building becomes an integral part of the surrounding landscape unfolding an inner and outer complexity of spatial sequences.

The architectural strategy to juxtapose clearly recognisable volumes which together form a larger whole, also applied here: maintaining the outline of the original school, its shape was reduced to simple and clear volumes and, like those in the kindergarten, organised in individual building structures.

The rough plaster of the outer facade interplays with the exposed concrete facade of the kindergarten. The sloping terrain in which the original building stands creates interesting special situations at varying levels.
To the West, the school is connected to the adjoining gym, the music pavilion and the fairground and thereby enhances the link to the village center. To the East, the free area used for break time which is adjacent to the school hall is also where the school connects to the kindergarten, thereby promoting cooperation between the two. New passages along the school provide direct access from the pedestrian zone in the North to the playground in the South.

Due to the sloping topography, the basement of the primary school opens out to the playground and also contains a public library in addition to the canteen. Divided into different small-scale spaces, the library contains a media section as well as niches for reading.

In the upper floors, a connected atmosphere is achieved via the high-ceilinged design of the school hall. A viewing gallery joins the rooms on the second floor with the central space of the building. The original circulation is transformed into a learning landscape, around which classrooms, additional rooms, the central cloakroom, the staff room and the toilets are grouped. Spacious glazing to the outside as well as between the school hall and classrooms ensure exciting visual connections as well as views of the surrounding mountains. Each classroom is assigned a window niche, which offers sufficient storage space and provides additional seating for the school hall. These new openings transform the previously small spaces into a large whole. In this way, different places of learning also develop outside the classroom.The largest structural change was made by transforming the attic into a large, cohesive area – the Open Space; this multifaceted and multifunctional space supports the research aspect of the pedagogical concept.Movable furniture as room divider, crafting tables, workbenches and a kitchenette ensure the versatility of the space and allows for infinite possibilities of reinvention.

Due to the sloping topography, the basement of the primary school opens out to the playground and also contains a public library in addition to the canteen. Divided into different small-scale spaces, the library contains a media section as well as niches for reading.

In the upper floors, a connected atmosphere is achieved via the high-ceilinged design of the school hall. A viewing gallery joins the rooms on the second floor with the central space of the building. The original circulation is transformed into a learning landscape, around which classrooms, additional rooms, the central cloakroom, the staff room and the toilets are grouped. Spacious glazing to the outside as well as between the school hall and classrooms ensure exciting visual connections as well as views of the surrounding mountains. Each classroom is assigned a window niche, which offers sufficient storage space and provides additional seating for the school hall. These new openings transform the previously small spaces into a large whole. In this way, different places of learning also develop outside the classroom.The largest structural change was made by transforming the attic into a large, cohesive area – the Open Space; this multifaceted and multifunctional space supports the research aspect of the pedagogical concept.Movable furniture as room divider, crafting tables, workbenches and a kitchenette ensure the versatility of the space and allows for infinite possibilities of reinvention.

Due to the sloping topography, the basement of the primary school opens out to the playground and also contains a public library in addition to the canteen. Divided into different small-scale spaces, the library contains a media section as well as niches for reading.

In the upper floors, a connected atmosphere is achieved via the high-ceilinged design of the school hall. A viewing gallery joins the rooms on the second floor with the central space of the building. The original circulation is transformed into a learning landscape, around which classrooms, additional rooms, the central cloakroom, the staff room and the toilets are grouped. Spacious glazing to the outside as well as between the school hall and classrooms ensure exciting visual connections as well as views of the surrounding mountains. Each classroom is assigned a window niche, which offers sufficient storage space and provides additional seating for the school hall. These new openings transform the previously small spaces into a large whole. In this way, different places of learning also develop outside the classroom.The largest structural change was made by transforming the attic into a large, cohesive area – the Open Space; this multifaceted and multifunctional space supports the research aspect of the pedagogical concept.Movable furniture as room divider, crafting tables, workbenches and a kitchenette ensure the versatility of the space and allows for infinite possibilities of reinvention.

An order was placed for us to build a bookstore. The premise for the design, it was required to have a small warehouse, an important space for children’s books, a certain number of islands, and the need for the existence of a system -within the same bookshelves- to exhibit the books facing forward.

Our proposal was to change the stores’ zoning paradigm, and thinking of it as a cross section instead of as a blueprint as it is usually designed. By taking advantage of a height of 5 m (16.40 ft.), we thought about distributing the warehouse space in the bookstore’s upper area. In the central area, where the eye of the beholder is, we have created a system to exhibit the books facing forward; and, in the lower area, from the 90 cm (35.43 in) downwards, the space for children. In that way, we have covered the 3 premises over the whole bookstore.

The space for children was painted with different shades of yellow, with the more intense color at the front and the lighter color at the back, achieving a path and an easy way for the children to identify their space.

Regarding the style used to make the bookshelves, the idea was to deconstruct the space by using cubes with different sizes that could be combined, generating different exposure scenarios. We thought of a structure made of pipes and wood since it had to be a tough structure able to resist the 4.50 m (17.76 ft.) of height and the whole weight of the books. This is why 40×40 (16×16) pipes were used, forming macro squares that contain 30x30x30 (12x12x12), 30x30x60 (12x12x24), 30x30x90 (12x12x36), 60x30x60 (24x12x24), and 90x30x90 (36x12x36) phenolic wooden cubes, the latter one with a cover. The measurement for guidance to make the spacing was that of 30 (12).

In this project, we have worked on the concept together with the graphic designer. The basic elements of books are letters and characters; thus, characters and texts with different fonts were used at the bookstore. In order to reinforce this idea and to produce a space where people can feel a sense of belonging and attraction, we have recreated a large scale typewriter as a kind of grandstand where people can sit and enjoy their reading.

In the cash register area, black was used to highlight the back of the store since it is a strong exposure space if we talk about impulse buying, as well as the cash register counter, which has exposure spaces for the same purpose.

The store, which at night is closed with a curtain, is almost open towards the shopping. What we wanted to achieve was the idea that the store be part of the walk people make by walking throughout the aisles, and that, somehow, they come across the bookstore without any obstacle -such as a door- that stop people from getting in just to visit it. A little space was left to be the window shop in order to hide the cash register area and communicate the latest launchings, and to finish the bookstore’s gesture.

The original shopping ceiling was left and painted black but, with the lighting, a virtual ceiling was created with 24 ranch-style-house lamps painted black in their lower part and yellow in their upper part.

The floor came into being with phenolic squares that create a weave similar to the macro squares of the bookshelves.

Signage was made with the same materials used in the bookshelves and islands, and it was hanged with three-dimensional letters so as to be part of the context. Children were also taken into account; a more child-like-font sign with yellow letters was hanged at their height.

As a conclusion, the aim was to achieve, with only one strong gesture -that one of a bookshelf of 4.50 m (17.76 ft.) of height that contemplates the whole program and surrounds the entire store including the window shop-, an impact and a need to visit the store.

After all, what matters most in commercial architecture is to make people want to get in the store.

This scheme placed first in the competition of ten Swiss-American team’s designs for the replacement of the Washington D.C. residence of the Swiss Ambassador. It is not only to be a private house but also a cultural gathering place on which standards and self-image of a country are measured.

Sited on a hill with a direct view through the trees to the Washington monument in the distance, a diagonal line of overlapping spaces drawn through a cruciform courtyard plan was the conceptual starting point. Official arrival spaces and ceremony spaces are connected along this diagonal line on the first level, while private living quarter functions are on the floor above.

Materials are charcoal integral color concrete trimmed in local slate and sand-blasted structural glass planks. Constructed according to Swiss ‘Minergie Standard’, the south facades use passive solar energy. The roof is a ‘sedum’ green roof with PVC panels.

The existing natural landscape will be clarified with new walkways and trees, while the plateau of the residence defines an arrival square: a reception courtyard and an herb garden with sub-floor wiring flexibilities.

Founded in New York in 1976, Steven Holl Architects has offices in New York and Beijing with a staff of 35. The firm has been recognized internationally with numerous awards, and the work has been widely published and exhibited. In 2005 Steven Holl Architects completed several projects including two private residences, Higgins Hall Center Section at the Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY), the Whitney Water Purification Facility and Park (Southern Connecticut) and Loisium Wine Visitor Center, Hotel and Spa (Langenlois, Austria).Recently Steven Holl Architects won fives international design competitions: Herning Center of the Arts (Denmark), Cité du Surf et de l’Océan (Biarritz, France), Sail Hybrid (Knokke-Heist, Belgium), Denver Justice Center (Denver, Colorado, USA), and Meander (Helsinki, Finland). Currently under construction are the Linked Hybrid (Beijing, China) and the Art and Architecture Museum (Nanjing, China). The School of Art and Art History at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA) will open Sept 8, 2006. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art addition (Kansas City, MO) will be completed and open to the public in June 2007.

The Kapellenhof project is coming to Vienna’s 22nd district: 450 new residential units around a shared urban grove.

In collaboration with three residential developers, Migra, Neues Leben, and Wogem, AllesWirdGut and feld72 won the developer’s competition for the construction of 450 apartments on Kapellenweg with a concept informed by the tradition-honored Viennese municipal public housing estate, a clear and confident ensemble laid out around a large communal courtyard: this is the Kapellenhof estate.

Much emphasis is placed on the potentials of the site: wide views and greenery! Small-scale buildings on the fringes and a courtyard as large as a football field provide for an open view from each apartment. The courtyard is kept open as an adventurous, topographically varied urban grove that offers private coves for retreat as well as open clearings.

The courtyard is lined by four buildings, each of which has an assigned community space in the entrance area with a courtyard-facing terrace as an offering to foster house communities.

The urban grove and a large multi-purpose room open for use by everybody encourage good-neighborly relations within the estate for more than 1,000 residents. Situated in the transition area between the Kapellenhof estate and the public square of Kapellenlatz on the north side, the large multi-purpose space provides, together with a bar and restaurant operated jointly by residents and other locals from nearby, a place for meeting and neighborly interaction in the quarter.

Novell Ikebana was planned as a housing development that would cater to the economic and mid-premium segment. It is located in the outskirts of NCR, right off NH8, near the Japanese industrial zone in Neemrana. It was conceived as a utilitarian and functionality-driven housing scheme that will set new benchmarks in housing design in the rapidly developing B-towns in North India. Yet, within the design, there are provisions, avenues, methods and expressions that allow for lifestyle and design to be incorporated artistically and tastefully.

Set amidst other high-quality residential developments such as the popular Ashiana, Ikebana is developed on 5.65 Acres of land (with the possibility of addition of another 2 acres), close to the Japanese zone, that is home to many industrial establishments. With direct connectivity to the service lane of NH8, there is exclusive access; focused on and dedicated largely to the Ikebana development. Complete with a total of 700 apartments with a provision for another 200, with varied configurations of the economy segment of 2-bedroom apartments and mid-premium segment of 3 bedroom apartments, the development is all-inclusive with sufficient basement + surface parking, a utility mart under the 2 BHK tower, a luxurious club/ recreational facility located under the stilt area in the landscape etc.

Conceptualized from the Japanese art and style of flower arrangement called Ikebana, the housing development adapts the art’s approach of bringing in order in geometry, along with an undercurrent of unbridled creativity. It reflects the connection between the sky, the man and the earth, in which diversity comes into play, manifesting itself in a mélange; the inter-play of spaces, yet imaginative while being geometric, and inherently, typically Japanese.

Inheriting a clean linear site, and planned with high density square-ish towers, Ikebana is defined by clean, straight lines and boundaries and is driven by an egalitarian approach. Imbibing the art of flower arrangement, the form is straightforward with free-flowing curves, edges that soften the sharpness, roof forms that endow the authoritative straights with an aura of organic appeal, and a botanical flavor, with an almost feminine softness. All the units are designed as eight apartments with a common core, that look into the central green and are open on two sides to bring in maximum light and permit sufficient ventilation. With naturally-lit staircases and shared walls, economical construction and heat insulation are achieved efficiently.

Creatively expressing cohesiveness with nature, beauty and green spaces, the curvaceous roof forms are a tribute to the large Peepul or Bargad tree canopies, that provide shade in man-made hardscapes. The roof canopies bring respite and relief on the terrace. Crafted as a long, connected expanse of 500 feet, it has meandering walk-ways, shaded seating place and places for congregation, meditation, yoga, leisurely strolls etc. The club, which is the cynosure of any residential development, has been positioned at the cross roads of the current and future development in order to create a form that invites one surreptitiously into its domain; a form that one enters without realizing that one has arrived! In sharp contrast to the typical forms of residential development, Ikebana is developed as a curvilinear form: wrapped around, merged with and in resonance with the landscape. A form in which the outdoors gradually melts into the indoors, softened and aided by a languid pool and entry puddle. Together with the usual components like a multi-cuisine restaurant, a party hall, an AI-Fresco pool-side dining, a health and wellness gymnasium et al, the massive roof top is manicured and developed to bring nature and humanity together. The site landscape is laid-back, formal, yet lazy, with unpunctuated greens of almost an acre, interspersed with tot-lots, fragrance gardens, activity zones, with a Japanese penchant for immaculate arrangements built into the spirit of design.

Appreciating nature, the drop-off zones of the towers are imbued with the same approach; large, expansive, tree-lined and clearly demarcated for vehicular and pedestrian. They lead into the covered indoor spaces in the belly of the residential towers that are used for lobbies, waiting zones, light visitor handing and circulation. The points for entry and exit for the Basement are located close to entrance to enable smoother transitions, while an internal peripheral road is maneuvered to limit vehicular movement at surface level and segregate the pedestrian from the vehicular.

Emphasizing shape, line and form, the design process blends the softness of the nuances of nature with utilitarian goals of a functional building: like pathways, parking, play and congregation areas, resulting in the creation of a haven to relax the mind, body and soul; a charming treat for the residents’ senses.

Anand Sharma studied (B.Arch.)Hons, from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur and started the practice “Tevatia Chauhan & Sharma Architects” in 1995. In 2003, the practice was rechristened as Design Forum International (DFI)with a clear intent to foster an egalitarian organizational ethos where distinctive architectural talent finds self-expression and can contribute in a democratic and collaborative work environment. The practice has since grown from strength to strength and is currently marching ahead with a vibrant team of over 100 professionals; each pursuing a distinctive value based architectural spirit that DFI imbues. Having won many accolades, DFI has emerged as an institution that attracts great design minds; who love to thrive in a professionally charged environment focusing on every detail and exploring new design methodology for every project.

Anand is an architect, talented singer and literary enthusiast. At DFI, he coined the slogan of “People first” and constantly uses his leadership and people skills to mentor and upscale the creative and intellectual horsepower. He believes that our cities must have a distinct character and as an architect, he lays great emphasis on contextuality in the firm’s design responses and the practical aspect of design solutions. With his extensive expertise In Architecture and Engineering, Anand Is an exceptional team leader possessing the capacity to carry a project from initiation to final production. His strength lies in his ability to manage projects with overlapping disciplines at the same time applying both quality and budget control. As a partner, Anand uses his diverse knowledge and experience to guide the architectural, engineering and client teams to work together to deliver highly successful projects.

Danish CEBRA architecture reveals a new school project in the United Arab Emirates. In the school part of the teaching will take place outside.

The architectural design of the school in the sustainable city is now official. The school is planned to be built inside the first residential community of its kind in Dubai, and the project aims at rethinking teaching and learning environments in a sustainable way. The forward-thinking school is designed by Danish architect and design practice CEBRA and landscape architect SLA.

The School offers a modern alternative to the often very dense and air-conditioned school buildings that we often experience in hot climates. The students pass directly from the classrooms and out into open learning landscapes with greenery, wind towers and shaded outdoor spaces that ensure a pleasant climate for all students and teachers, where students stay and learn as much outside as inside.

“We had to rethink the school in our design. Why not take advantage of the warm climate, move many of the functions of the school away from artificial air-conditioned rooms, and out in a naturally ventilated, cooled environment?” asks architect and head of CEBRA Int, Abu Dhabi branch, Mikkel Hallundbæk Schlesinger. He continuous: ”CEBRA has worked extensively with learning architecture since we established the office in 2001, but this is the first time we design a school, in which the climate and vegetation constitute active design parameters”, says Mikkel Schlesinger.

At ground level, the school opens towards its surroundings, The SustainableCity. The green vegetation of the city continues into the school and up the facades. In addition, the students actively contribute to the green landscape by growing their own gardens with vegetables and flowers.

CEO of Diamond Developers Mr. Faris Saeed said, “Every building in TheSustainable City is designed to smoothly integrate with the city as a whole, we wanted to make sure students will learn outside the school walls as much as they learn inside it”

“The designers at CEBRA & SLA have managed to create a wonderful combination of function and green space, which we believe will provide a pleasant and stimulating learning environment for a future generation.”

A school that is part of the city.

The School is to be an integrated part of The Sustainable City, which is developed by Diamond Developers, the city consists of townhouses and courtyard villas, which are inspired by the urban fabric and heritage of Dubai’s old ‘Bastakyia’ district, a sustainable hotel and resort and an innovation center. All wastewater is treated and reused and additionally the city produces more energy from solar cells and solar panels than it uses. A green corridor runs through the entire city while biodomes offer urban farming. A theme that the school integrates with urban farming for students. A school that reflects the outside world inside the school.

Upon completion 1000 students aged 3-12 will attend the Sustainable School. CEBRA has designed the project in close cooperation with Danish landscape architects SLA and Diamond Developers through the Act NOW partnership.